Fake News: Most states ready to cooperate with Trump administration’s voter fraud probe

(National Sentinel) Elections: Despite earlier reports claiming that most states were refusing to cooperation with the Trump administration’s panel looking into the scope of voter fraud throughout the country, the panel’s vice chairman says otherwise.

As noted by the Washington Times, Kris Kobach said that earlier reporting claiming 40 states were balking at providing his panel with information was not true:

[Kobach] blasted what he called “fake news” headlines claiming more than 40 states were resisting his request for voter information.

Mr. Kobach and the Justice Department also filed court papers blasting a lawsuit aimed at derailing the panel. The papers said the courts have never found a constitutional right to “informational privacy” that would shield otherwise public data from being shared with other government agencies.

The panel sent a request to all 50 states and the District of Columbia last week asking them to provide a list of voters’ names, addresses, partial Social Security numbers, voter history, military status and records of felony convictions. He said only information that is public record needs to be submitted.

Trump critics, fearful that the panel’s investigation will discover evidence of massive voter fraud, have been devising ways to oppose the effort at every turn, the Times reported, thereby justifying the president’s post-election claims that such fraud exists.

A CNN report said 19 states “openly criticized” Mr. Kobach’s request. The NBC News report under that MSNBC headline said 17 states are “flat-out refusing” to comply, while another 28 states would hand over only public information.

Not so, says Kobach, calling those reports “fake news.”

“At present, 20 states have agreed to provide the publicly available information requested by the commission and another 16 states are reviewing which information can be released under their state laws,” he said in a statement released by the White House.

“In all, 36 states have either agreed or are considering participating with the commission’s work to ensure the integrity of the American electoral system,” said Kobach, who is also secretary of state in Kansas.

Privacy groups have sued claiming that data shared with the panel could be unconstitutional. But Kobach said his panel is only asking for data that states can legally share.

The Trump administration has insisted that voter fraud is not only a real thing, but much more widespread than Democrats are willing to admit.